Peace officers: tribal police

The law creates a statewide pathway for tribal police to enforce state law on their tribes’ Indian lands while requiring California-level training, accountability, public-records access, and liability procedures.

What the law does ​

• Renames and removes the 2029 end date from the Tribal Police Pilot Program, creating the ongoing Tribal Police Program.
• Lets the Department of Justice select up to three federally recognized tribes for the program, considering tribal size, region, and public-safety resources.
• Grants qualified tribal police officers state peace-officer authority on their employing tribe’s Indian country, subject to federal jurisdiction limits.
• Allows those officers to act elsewhere in California when requested by state or local law enforcement, during emergencies or pursuit, for specified arrests with local consent, or while transporting an apprehended person.
• Requires participating officers and chiefs to meet California peace-officer hiring, training, certification, and conduct standards, including Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training basic-certification deadlines.
• Requires participating tribes to provide California-equivalent public-records access, claims procedures, insurance, limited immunity waivers, and cooperation with state inspections, audits, investigations, discipline, and reporting.
• Gives the Department of Justice and the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training oversight authority, including authority to suspend or remove noncompliant participants.
• Requires Department of Justice reports on the program by July 1, 2028, and January 1, 2030, and renames the Tribal Police Pilot Fund as the Tribal Police Fund for reporting-technology support.

Who it affects ​

• Up to three participating federally recognized tribes and their police chiefs, officers, public-safety officers, and investigators.
• Tribal residents and others on participating tribes’ Indian lands.
• State and local law-enforcement agencies that may request assistance or coordinate with participating tribal officers.
• People cited, detained, arrested, searched, or otherwise subject to state-law enforcement actions by participating tribal officers.

Context ​

The program and its peace-officer authority take effect only if the Legislature appropriates funding.